I decided to go look at another free webs package from webs.com to see how free for all designing has changed and what you can expect from them. Will free website hosting completely disappear because of the lack of interest and wanting more options or will they continue to thrive into little online cities that govern themselves!?

When I made an account on Webs.com I was pleased at how easy it was to set up and get started adding things.

The things I like about it are:

• Easy quick photo albums… no code to worry about
• Ability to upgrade to a .com address if your site takes off well. (charges may incur straight away to your bank/building society)
• Stats for website which is hosted by a company called Clicky.com and it even allows for Twitter search. You can easily opt out of this. But I wont be going into detail about that as it isn’t what I am focussing on…
• Easy file uploader that can have multiple files sent in each upload… The files are shown in a nice clear way. In this website builder you can upload files by email which some free hosts will not allow… Even the free Geocities wouldnt let people connect using FTP!
• The format for a free site on Webs.com is http://yoursitename.webs.com/. Personally I think that is rather good as on Geocities free it would be your email address as the url which is a pain in the neck as people can spam your email and you can end up on a black list. so format for that is http://youremailaddress/index.htm
• Some Google account abilities from Google Webmaster.
• Email notification for numerous things including guestbook comments and new site members.
• WYSIWYG editing which is useful for people who can’t code in straight HTML.
• Community Forum where topics surrounding your site can be discussed and evaluated by others….
• Search Engine Optimisation for adding your site to Google and Yahoo etc which helps to be found easier. Site linking and sharing are part of the deal.
• Add social networks to your site so others can see what you are doing elsewhere: Twitter and Facebook integration. Members integration with Email Blasts so you can notify of new posts. Facebook Connect available.

Payments may incur when you decide the following:

• Google Adwords and custom display ads with iPromote.
• PayPal E-commerce (package details vary accordingly to what you have decided upon.)
• There are premium packages for more webspace and tools. Domain names only available on the Enhanced and Pro accounts. Multi email addresses also.

As a free website maker the free tools that are available are quite advanced to what other free makers are. If you want the site forever then I’d suggest you pay to get premium benefits and ways to enhance your site.

Main twitter is still GoldChoiceUK.

I think it is important to set out these ‘guidelines’ so no confusion is made.

1. The Proposal…

You need to spend time with your client in making sure you fully understand what each other requires and what your client wants in content. Take a notebook/pad or even a laptop to write the notesin digital format so you can print copies to give the client and to file for later.

2. Drawing up designs….

This is your job as designer as you need to show what you can sell to the customer and how you can change it to make it a clean site to navigate.

3. Getting photographs or images…

This can be done by either but usually the client will want specific pictures up and they need to find time to do that. If it is a simple site then you may consider using a free site that you dont neet to pay anyone to use images from. If you do use graphical content from other sources dont forget to state where they are from.

4. Timing…

It is your job to keep time on a task as you dont want to be wasting the clients money. Note down the times that you work on each individual project and work out your rates accordingly. The client should not pay for time that you, as designer, have not worked on
the project for. Keep a diary to space work out so you avoid working on one project for too long at a time. That also helps because you can stop falling behind with work.

5. Signing off…

You need to make sure that you have done everything in the proposal, and even made it better than that if you can. Talking to your client at the end of the project about extra things they may want is great and will earn you respect. They may want to pay you to keep the site updated on a regular basis.

6. After the sign off…

So basically much of the planning rests on your head to complete a project but you have to work well with your client to get exactly what you need to know to complete it all on time so they use your company or services again.

I thought of writing this post to tell people who are interested about making their own sites (or they can drop me a line to make one ) a few resources I keep to get inspiration and learn how to code.

1. My experience

I am not being big headed in any way at all but it is important because I feel that 1-to-1 teaching is great and there is someone there to ask if you have a problem.

2. Website building magazines/books (online and offline)

Online:
There are a range of books and websites to help out with long term design.
For online forum based knowledge I recommend Boagworld. The forum offers loads of things to get people started. There may be answers to your questions there. Also go and pick up a copy of Paul Boag’s book Website Owners Manual for further tips if you have already the HTML basics and you want to learn how to take your website/team to the next level. Why not have a listen to the Boagworld Podcast which often has a special guest they have interviewed.
If you are a young budding web designer check out Scrunchup. Their newly created online magazine recommends and delivers some of the tips from real web experts.

Offline:
For offline go to a local library and find the computing section. There is a selection of books to help first time website makers. – I have a book called Build Your Own Web Site (published 1998) that I learned the basics as kid nearly 10 years ago! I don’t know if it is still around but you may find a similar book that may help you get the very basics of what code actually looks like.
Failing that you can go and order one of the many Sitepoint books available. I haven’t myself read one or had one in my hand, however I love the range and I doubt that you won’t find what you are looking for.
In the way of magazines, there are a few but I picked up an issue of Web Designer Mag from WHSmith or buy a subscription from their site. I rate this publication as it has a CD/DVD of extras and the magazine itself has tutorials and general ‘webby’ stuff and goodness.

3. Use online tutorials
Some great tutorial/hands-on resources to help you get the best out of learning how to code.

a. W3Schools is a great ‘testing’ site with tutorials and ‘sandboxes’ to test your newly learned skills.
b. The W3 Consortium is the web standard site for web standards!

4. CSS Zen Garden for ideas and style

Lovely site that shows many designs by many people and is a great way to not only learn some HTML but go one better and learn CSS too. I rate this site highly.

5. Read blogs and other articles of interest
This is where I get to show off my good web friends! I have several sources that I look at regularly and some I have written for in the past.
a. Andy Kinsey has his blog called AK Designs, and regularly writes a great piece about SEO (Search Engine Optimistion). You will also find odd other things on his site that he has written about to express his enjoyment of a service/product in the hope that you too will find it useful.
b. Clair has knowledge of web design in the PHP area. She has a blog that she updates with all kinds of things including hardware tech and software. Some really nice articles that are easy to read and provide an insight to a techie’s life.
c. Jamie Knight is an autistic guy who I started to talk to on Boagworld Forum. Jamie has a great site of really useful web information and Tech stuff.

Finally use my website to gain knowledge and through the posts and tutorials. There is no substitute for just reading and finding all you can really learn.

6. Twitter
Twitter, we all know about, is a great tool for getting help with a coding problem. Go ask some of the top designers your questions and they will be pleased (I’m sure) to help you.

I hope that you have an insight into where you can go for tech and web related articles and help.

URL’s and resources in this post (order as discussed in the post):

GoldChoiceUK: www.goldchoiceuk.co.uk
Boagworld: www.boagworld.com
Scrunchup: www.scrunchup.com
Build Your Own Web Site: (ISBN: 07460 3293 5)
Sitepoint: www.sitepoint.com
Web Designer Mag: www.webdesignermag.co.uk
W3Schools: www.w3schools.com
W3 Consortium: www.w3.org
CSS Zen Garden: www.csszengarden.com
Andy Kinsey: www.andykinsey.co.uk
Clair: http://cds-world.co.uk/blog
Jamie Knight: http://www.jkg3.com

I may be able to ask questions and get answers but I think it is how they answer and communicate which can be the problem.

If they dont know exactly what you can do for them, help them by giving a mini CV of the sort of things that you can produce.

I had this sort of a problem with Rayna Disabled Rider where I knew what needed to be done but the client didnt seem to know what she wanted which made me uneasy. I had some people there to help me with it but if they were not there I’d have probably not taken the challenge very easily.

The other thing that annoys me is when little tweaks need to be made to a site and they assume I know exactly what they want in place and I dont unless they tell me.

I also love clients because they help others see what I am capable of and may help me to develop my already learned skills or even learn new ones!

So when you next book time (very precious) with a client, then use it to gain as much knowledge as you can about the task in hand. If you can then ask the same question a million different ways!

I have been a loyal Geocities (fan?) for 3 years, updating my website and changing the look etc, but now it is time to put it to bed to rest.

I had my first ever site on Geocities and I’m in some way sad to see it go. Why?

- It was the first website I ever had up. Without Geocities I would not have got this site that you are looking at right now.
- Following on… Geocities was a great starter package for me to get to know what a web server does and how to make sites… I could experiment with it and change the layout as much as I wanted.
- I had a way I could show my friends and family what I was doing with my time and show them my skills and what sort of things I was into.
- I had not got the money for a real address.

But why not also say some bad things about it? Why not?

- I couldnt connect Geocities free to a FTP client which made it useless if I wanted to upload multiple files in one go. I would have to select the files each individually.
- There were adverts.
- There wasnt enough customisation room / space for me to go put up something really snazzy.
- Having my e-mail address in the url stopped me from sharing the website with The Whole World. Thus only close friends and family I could allow to view it.

There may be more things but anyway I enjoyed using Geocities and hope that it has changed some peoples lives in the way it did mine!

So far we have looked at ways to get feedback and the feedback you may experience.

In this final part I would like to go through how you can approach changes and how to maintain a healthy site.

With all the feedback you have (if a large amount) it may be a good idea to put it into one document to pick over.

I submit my sites for review on Twitter as I have followers that specailise in design reading my feed there. The more places, and people, you submit the url to the more views you will get from different people thus helping your design skills.

My tip: The feedback I get I could do what I described above but in Windows Vista I like to use the Snipping Tool. With that I don’t have to worry about the ‘have I copied/pasted that’ problem because I’ll have the data in .jpg format. Then I can disregard all of the pointless comments. If they are major changes they will need to be done first. Small tweeks wont be as noticable so they can be done later on.

You may like to thank your friends for helping you as they are a good second-eye for spotting mistakes, and I know I miss them occasionally.

Finally when all the hard work is done you can relax and let visitors come to your page. However… one slight catch… to maintain a healthy site you should update it often. Maybe you could have a set day in the month where you check for broken links or you may want to add new features… all to keep people interested!

You could add:
A blog – assuming current site is only a showcase
A forum – depending on type of site
You come up with something more fantastic than I can? Tell Me!

I hope you have enjoyed my 3 part blog post topic- I hope to do one again sometime.

So now you have made your site and you have hopefully used a method of getting some feedback that I described in my last article.

Now I want to tell you about types of feedback and how you may view them.

I’ve already made a few sites and submitted them for public review. I was amazed by the views that people had of them. They did like them and a few were giving me quite a bit of useful info. For example on one site they mentioned how spacing could make it look better.

Just accepting feedback is good but if all you are getting is ‘your site is good/bad’ then maybe you need to select more carefully who exactly you show the site to and who you market it for. You may need to do major tweeking.

All the marketing can be decided before you make the site as long as you get it out there and show the world how good your new site is!

If you are being criticised then always have an open mind and be ready to make site changes. That will be covered in the third and final installment of this series.

With positive comments coming your way there is nothing to worry about and you can pat yourself on the back!
However dont get too down if you have negative comments because they may help you to become a better designer.
No responses lead to a feeling of rejection so choose tthe best feedback method for you!

In the final part: Making change

Getting website feedback is a tough job if it is one of the first websites you have designed. I learned all about this in the last few websites I have created, and even using my own site as a dummy to get feedback.

I think it is good to know when you are going wrong, or where you think the site could be improved or indeed the next one. Alas you won’t stop learning new and better techniques.

Making mistakes is good practice to improve on future sites. When you make your first site for a client mistakes can be solved then at the first website rather than the second, third, or tenth when it might have been made ‘wrong’ for years… When I say ‘wrong’, wrong in the sense of ‘it should not be done that way’ to ‘you shouldnt ever do it like that’. That is kind of a big extreme so learning from mistakes early on can be positive. Many different scales of mistakes can be made on these levels, so it is not surprising that the first time you test a site’s SEO that things go wrong. They may go wrong for the better, which is not a problem.

How to get feedback is the first point I want to make really clear. If you feel isolated and worried that you may be told that your site design sucks, (Video provided by Paul Boag of web design company Headscape) you may want to post your link over at The Boagworld Forum, where some lovely people will kindly look at your site and review it in the kindest possible way. You need to join Boagworld.com Forum before being able to post anything.

The other way to get attention is through Twitter.com by posting a tweet to some friends, or one in general for everyone. It’s up to you. However when I did that I got only 1 comment despite the fact I had many followers. You may need to think if this is how you want to get your link out there. Again a sign-up is required to post on Twitter.com.

Finally you may have your own site (or indeed know of another forum with a special area to leave web links), where you may decide to post a blog or something to mark the release/relaunch of a site.

So there are many ways to go about getting feedback, so don’t be put off by it. I think that it is very useful to have feedback that one day will prove very valuable to you.

In part two: types of feedback you may get.

I have tried flash layouts, frames, tables and layers in the hope that I would stick to a particular design. I have found that working with layers is the best way for me as I can use CSS to define the location and other style properties of items on the page.

My different layouts ALL had pros and cons to them, which I´d like to talk about here now.

The first layout consisted of only Macromedia Flash. Straight away I hear alarm bells ringing because some search engines will not pick up on Flash-only sites. I had a very curvy design for it. Later I gave the main menu the drag ability, so it could be moved around within the Flash movie. All this happened between March 2006 and December 2006.

Soon I started to listen to Boagworld.com´s podcasts, and listening to ´The Great Flash Debate´, I finally was persuaded that I should have a HTML alternative. I think that having Flash is good as most browsers/computers support that content, but a Flash-only option is not enough. So I got to work on that straight away.
During my experimenting I used frames for a while, but then I found out that some people turn frames off, thus stopping the site working if you don´t have an alternative layout. I found this a little stupid, but it all made sense. If anyone really prefers a frames layout for their site, (they are not *very* common now) I can say I know how to do them!
Frames are quite useful though as you can fit a lot into them because they will scroll if there is more than a page of text. If you have hundreds and thousands of links then you can get to them easily.

Then I used a table based design and things were much more simple. However you can only really position them in 3 places normally (left, right and centre). Later in 2007 (July/August), I decided to learn a bit of CSS, so that I could colour and position them where I want regardless of the limitations of normal HTML. This again enhanced my knowledge and reading a 400 page book certainly taught me well. I haven´t finished it yet as I have been changing my site too much.
Then I realised something was missing.

Into my life came DIV´s, a layers format, and everything was more user friendly. A DIV can be positioned anywhere you like and can even nest. All my sites are now designed with a DIV layout and I only use tables for things like data that has to be listed a certain way.

If you think this article was interesting or have something to say about it please comment!